Customer Reviews

Too Soon to Panic

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Gordon Forbes struck gold in 1978 with the publication of A Handful of Summers, a joyous bacchanalian romp inside the international tennis tour in the 50s and 60s. His new book is more of an afterword to the original. Many of the same characters appear and there is little doubt that Mr. Forbes had a great time during is glory days. While not a disappointment, this novel is not really a novel. It has no plot, it has no rising action, it has no resolution--what it does have is a memory. A memory of times when great tennis players traveled the world for glory, not gobs of cash, and knocked back a few beers at the pub after the daily match was over. An older and wiser Mr. Forbes also pays touching tribute to his sister (wife of tennis starr Cliff Drysdale) who recently passed away. Although unspoken, the reader is compelled to understand that tennis is a vehicle whereby people can socialize together and form the bonds that are both personally important and enjoyable. No doubt, there are many funny anecdotes here (most involving his doubles partner known as Big Abie). However, Mr. Forbes does not seem to have his heart in the telling of them. Rather, he seems to be taking stock of his life and the things that matter to him. Still, it is well written and engaging. This will not disappoint anyone who plays tennis and loves the history of the game.

In Too Soon to Panic, South African tennis player Gordon Forbes interweaves tales of his life on the tennis circuit during the 1950s and 1960s with visits to the professional tennis tour of the 1990s. The book is a delightful reflection on his travels to the sport's greatest hangouts- Roland Garros, Wimbledon & Queen's Club, Manhattan, the Foro Italico. As Forbes returns to these venues his senses are stirred and he relates anecdotes, usually accompanied by diary entries or notes he made thirty years earlier. The result is a personal, thoughtful and entertaining read.

You will enjoy this book if you want to read stories about the days of amateur tennis, when the players did not receive prize money. Forbes and his friends are lively characters, none more so than Forbes' doubles sidekick, Abe Segal. His sketches of
Rosewall, Ashe, Torben Ulrich and others are also worth the price of the book. A typical yarn recounts the first ever meeting of the players union, presided over President Newcombe, Secretary Riessen and Treasurer Ashe (who kept the players'
$50 membership dues in his pocket.) My own imagination cannot come up with a scenario in which Sampras, Agassi, Safin, Hewitt meet to discuss anything.

Forbes is equally engaging on the subject of his childhood tennis exploits in South Africa, his sister Jean, and his second (and third) careers as a lighting salesman and tennis court manufacturer. The writing is very nice, and by the end of the book you feel as if you inhabited Forbes' memories for a while.

Philosophy, ethics, tennis history -- and a forward by Bud Collins! Can't ask for more in a book filled with memories. Glad I have it!

After all the hype about this book, I was rather disappointed. Bud Collins, George Plimpton, and Pete Sampras all suggest he is a virtuoso among the tennis writing aficionados. Well maybe not...

The author's style reads like a flowery lightweight novel. The book is more about Gordon Forbes' strange state of mind, including his weird panic-anxious attacks that he suffers during his sleep walking bouts and the strange adventures of his lifelong doubles partner Abe Segal. Actually, as you read on Abe Segal quickly becomes the center stage character. The problem is that his words and actions do not seem quiet believable. How much of all his behaviors are either heavily romanticized or outright fabricated?

The author also uses this interesting back-and-forth mechanism whereby one paragraph describes a very vaguely tennis related scene in the 60s, and the very next one describes a parallel scene maybe at the same tournament in the 90s. So, in the 60s he may be mentioning a match between Art Larsen and Nicolas Pietrangeli; and in the very next paragraph he now describes an Agassi vs Courier match. Both matches were probably fascinating, and their contrast could have been equally entertaining to analyze in some depth. But, within one weak paragraph that is not what you get from the author. Instead, the author escapes any valid analytical effort at this juxtaposition of interesting matches and escapes back to the near-fiction of Abe Segal's adventures around the World.

Somehow perplexing, is who were Gordon Forbes and Abe Segal anyway? Well, they are now both in their seventies. They were among the top South African players in the early sixties. This did not mean much at a time when Australians dominated tennis, and certainly completely overshadowed them. Names like Rosewall, Hoad, Emerson, Laver, Fraser, Stolle are definitely part of tennis history. Forbes and Segal are not. But, you have to give it to them they were nevertheless excellent players. How many outstandingly gifted tennis players are they who are not even known in their prime? Well, that is Forbes and Segal for you. From what I gather they were a pretty formidable doubles team. And, made the quarters of a couple of grand slam tournaments. However, they were never good enough to get their name in print on any major tennis cup. Thus, they left the game without leaving a trace.

However, Forbes background was ideal for the making of a world class tennis historian and writer. Here was a journeyman tennis player who exchanged tennis strokes with the Australian greats. He played tennis just before the onset of the Open tennis era (1968). But, he remained engaged in the sport and followed it closely till nowadays. Thus, he had all the empirical data to be as good a writer as many profess he his on the subject. Somehow, I just don't think he cut it as a writer. I learned so little about the game and its changing atmosphere between the 60s to nowadays.

The book has some moments. The description of the early professional tour with Trabert, and other old timers is poignant. You feel almost pity at the hardship these guys experienced, killing each other with tennis balls day in day out for a few miserable bucks that seemed like hardly above minimum wage in total anonymity. This compared to the surreal richness and fame of today's tennis pros makes for a painful contrast. Unfortunately, from within this book such poignant moments are too few and far in between.

Instead, I strongly recommend three contemporary books: "You can't be serious" by John McEnroe; "Bad News McEnroe" by Bill Scanlon; and "Tennis Confidential" (forgot the author). All those three books are so much more intense and get into the mental and physical blood and guts of professional men's tennis. You learn so much more insightful info on the game. Let's face it Gordon Forbes was never a John McEnroe on or off the tennis court. Actually, he was not a Bill Scanlon either (Bill's book is excellent).